UCDSB Reaches Tentative Local Agreement withCanadian Union of Public Employees Local 5678

(Brockville)
– The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) reached a tentative
memorandum of settlement Thursday afternoon with the Canadian Union of
Public Employees (CUPE) Local 5678. This local settlement, when ratified
by the UCDSB and the Local membership, will complete the bargaining
process for education support staff and complements the agreement on
provincial issues achieved on November 2, 2015. Terms of the settlement
will remain confidential until ratified by both parties.

CUPE
Local 5678 represents about 1,300 education support staff, including
custodians, clerical staff, IT staff, early childhood educators, and
educational assistants who work in UCDSB schools.

“I am very
pleased to see we have reached a tentative agreement with our CUPE
staff,” said Chair Jeff McMillan. “They play an essential role in our
system. The hard work and commitment of all of those involved in these
talks allowed us to reach a fair agreement acceptable to both sides. We
can now continue to focus on our core mission of student achievement.”

“We
value the important contribution of employees represented by CUPE,”
said Director Stephen Sliwa. “They play a key role in helping our
students achieve academic success. The board is extremely pleased that
we have concluded negotiations and we look forward to working with our
CUPE partners to reach our goals.”

“I and the CUPE bargaining unit
are very pleased with the outcome of these talks,” said Sue Hanson,
president of CUPE Local 5678. “Whenever you go into negotiations you
always go in with a wish list of a little more than what you think you
might get. But in the end, this round of bargaining has been successful
and I think our members will be pleased with the results.”

The union’s ratification vote will take place March 5. Trustees will hold a ratification vote on March 23.

The
tentative agreement with CUPE Local 5678 marks the end of current
labour negotiations, with the board having successfully reached approved
or tentative agreements with all of its employee bargaining units.